"No need. Let her hold out her hands in token of amity. I shall soon
see."

They returned to where the girl still sat, wrapped in her cloak, sobbing
still, but not so violently.

"Caroline, you may take off your things," said the mother, drawing the
pins from her own hat. "We shall not go to-day."

The child shot her mother one disappointed look, then proceeded to
follow suit. When her hat was off, she began to take off her gloves.
As soon as they were on the table, the mother pushed them over to Mr.
Gryce. As he looked at them, the girl lifted off her cloak.

"Will--will he tell?" she whispered behind its ample folds into her
mother's ear.

The answer came quickly, but not in the mother's tones. Mr. Gryce's ears
had lost none of their ancient acuteness.

"I do not see that I should gain much by doing so. The one discovery
which would link this find of yours indissolubly with Miss Challoner's
death, I have failed to make. If I am equally unsuccessful below--if I
can establish no closer connection there than here between this cutter
and the weapon which killed Miss Challoner, I shall have no cause
to mention the matter. It will be too extraneous to the case. Do you
remember the exact spot where you stooped, Miss Watkins?"

"No, no. Somewhere near those big chairs; I didn't have to step out of
my way; I really didn't."

Mr. Gryce's answering smile was a study. It seemed to convey a two-fold
message, one for the mother and one for the child, and both were
comforting. But he went away, disappointed. The clew which promised so
much was, to all appearance, a false one.

He could soon tell.

VI. INTEGRITY

Mr. Gryce's fears were only too well founded. Though Mr. McElroy was
kind enough to point out the exact spot where he saw Miss Watkins stoop,
no trace of blood was found upon the rug which had lain there, nor had
anything of the kind been washed up by the very careful man who scrubbed
the lobby floor in the early morning. This was disappointing, as its
presence would have settled the whole question. When, these efforts all
exhausted, the two detectives faced each other again in the small
room given up to their use, Mr. Gryce showed his discouragement. To be
certain of a fact you cannot prove has not the same alluring quality
for the old that it has for the young. Sweetwater watched him in some
concern, then with the persistence which was one of his strong points,
ventured finally to remark:

"I have b